Thursday, February 18, 2010

The boys and I were looking forward to spending the day in Annapolis with Jamison & Josephine since Colleen is back in school and the kids are off for the week. I knew parking was an issue in downtown Annapolis, but Colleen had said it was do-able during the day and night was the impossible time. So, against my better judgement, we made the hour or so drive to Annapolis and I was shocked at what I found. I was hesitant about going into downtown, but I wanted to help out and hang out with the kids for the day.

As I drove into downtown Annapolis I discovered there was no parking to be found and the parking garages were full. Also, I found that many of the roads are still only 1 lane in addition to the fact that schools had a 2 hour delay which put me right in the middle of the chaos. This led to massive traffic jams, horns honking and attitudes going crazy. I was stressed, but still dealing with it and spent about 30 minutes navigating around the streets looking for parking. Then the real trouble started which sent me into a tailspin. I turned down Cathedral Street only to be met with a car coming head-on at me up the street since it was only 1 lane still. The car would not back up the few feet to get to the end of the street and let me through so I had to back-up 3/4 of the street and turn down a 1-way dead end street so this car could get up the street! I then had to figure out how to turn around on this tiny side street with snow piles and cars parked. I ended up getting stuck in a snow pile while trying to turn around! For the normal person, this would not be a big deal and you would figure out how to get out of the situation. But for me, it was the end of the world because I have an enormous fear of driving in, on, or around snow so I froze. Luckily there was a guy walking by who helped get my car out and turned around.

By that time I was in tears and felt like I was going to throw up! I was also getting worried because I knew I needed to get to Joey & Jay. I navigated some more streets and ended up driving down another side street that was still full of snow/ice which frayed the last of my nerves. The boys were now crying and yelling because they had been in the car for close to 2 hours. Finally, I called it quits and made my way out of downtown Annapolis and parked in the Grauls parking lot which is 1.2 miles away from where I needed to be. I was sobbing, shaking and had no clue what to do.

I then started to text another family member who also lives in Annapolis to see if she could watch Joey & Jay since I was not going to drive back into downtown. After much back and forth, some name-calling and rude talking by her and myself, I made a decision. I got the stroller out of the car, put the boys in it and we started to walk. I texted most everyone in the family to let them know I was on my way to the house and that I had talked to Joey so she knew I was on my way and things were fine. Well, after I was already about half way there (or a little more) I got a text from this family member in Annapolis saying to turn around and go home. It became obvious that she had waited to make that decision long enough for the boys and I to have made it a good distance into our 1.2 mile walk. I was so mad and in tears again. I made sure to talk to Joey again to make sure things were fine and they were taken care of and then I turned the stroller around and walked back to the car.

Making the decision to walk was the best I could do to keep my word and watch Joey & Jay today. The sidewalks were not cleared so we walked on the side of the road for most of the time, but there were other people walking with us as well and the cars were all being very nice about staying away from the shoulder. I have an honest fear of driving in, on, or around snow so I made a decision that would work for me and get to Joey & Jamison. I really hate what happened today, but I can't change it now. In the end Joey & Jay were fine and I was able to calm myself down enough to drive back home.

Now I do know that we won't be making a trip to downtown Annapolis until summertime because the snow has taken over down there. I do envy everyone who has no fear of driving in the snow because I find myself stuck at home most of winter because of my fear....

On a side note....I got a call from Hopkins to give me instructions for Ryder's MRI on Monday. We need to be there and checked in at 9:25am which means it will be an early day to get Zak to daycare and us to Hopkins during rush hour traffic! Ryder is not allowed to eat anything after midnight. He can have a total of 8oz of water/apple juice/Pedialyte between midnight-7am and then he can't have anything after 7:30am. This poses another issue...I can't feed Zak in front of Ryder in the morning so I will have to drop off a very grumpy child to daycare for a longer day than he is used to. I feel so bad for Ryder to have to go through the sedation and MRI. I feel so bad for Zak to have to not eat or drink in the morning and to have to spend the whole day at daycare (he usually only spend 2-3 hours when he goes).

Now to try and convince the boys to nap so I can lay down. I still feel like I need to throw up and have a massive headache...